Van Der Zande to Fill In for Dalziel with EFFORT at Detroit

Renger van der Zande will fill in for Ryan Dalziel at this weekend’s Pirelli World Challenge doubleheader at Detroit’s Belle Isle Park in the team’s No. 31 EFFORT Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R.

Dalziel will be in Le Mans for the Le Mans test day, aboard the No. 30 Tequila Patron ESM Ligier JS P2 Honda, and will miss Rounds 10 and 11 of the World Challenge season.

It was likely Dalziel would have at least one conflict on this weekend, with the test day and the second World Challenge race of the weekend both occurring on Sunday.

This will undoubtedly put a blow to Dalziel’s World Challenge title hopes. The Scotsman currently sits second, just 15 points behind points leader Olivier Beretta (799-784).

As it is, van der Zande will now be one of the busiest drivers in Detroit tho weekend, as one of likely several drivers who will split the weekend between World Challenge and TUDOR United SportsCar Championship commitments.

The Dutchman will make his track debut in the No. 8 Starworks Motorsport Oreca FLM09 in the TUDOR Championship’s Prototype Challenge category, and will now add these two GT races to his slate.

“Renger is a well-known driver in sprint and endurance racing,” said EFFORT Racing Technical Director Stefan Pfeiffer. “I’ve worked together with him before, and with race winning results. He’s a great guy on and off the track.”

Dalziel would also be unavailable for the World Challenge weekend at Sonoma, the last weekend in August, as it conflicts with the post-Le Mans round of the FIA World Endurance Championship at the Nurburgring.